Milwaukee: North of Java

My friend Alyssa stopped by for a visit this past weekend, and one of our excursions took us to the shores of Lake Michigan. The Snowmageddon created an icy white beach that extended for a few dozen yards over the frigid waters.



A bunch of unusual formations pockmarked the beach, including several ice volcanoes, which are created when wind and waves propel water up through tunnels under the snow, causing it to spurt out and then freeze in a conical shape.





Pretty cool, huh?

From Georgia With Love

Just as a head's up, my brother has started a blog about his travels to the Former Soviet Republic of Georgia, Sweet Saqartvelo Brown. He's there to teach English.

You should all check it out and follow his blog. There's sure to be some post-communist hilarity!

The Rundown

I couldn't leave this blog without posting one last time, could I? I've been back in the States for about a week now and have decided to compile a little list of statistics about my trip. This idea is in no way stolen from my brother's blog about his trip to Ireland.

My study abroad experience

Days abroad: 161 (including 1 partial day)

Days in UK: 145 (including 3 partial days)

Days in continental Europe: 17 (including 2 partial days)

Earthquakes missed: 2

Favorite foreign accent: New Zealand

Favorite city visited: Rome

Favorite city visited (UK): Edinburgh

Cathedrals visited/seen: 7+

Favorite cathedral: Duomo

Castles visited: 3

Favorite castle: Cardiff

The UK

Classes taken: 4

Classes passed: 4 (hopefully)

Essays written: 4

Times had fish and chips: 3

Yorkshire Pudding: 1

Bangers and Mash: 1

Doner Kebabs: 1

Times said "Oh capital!": 2

Times laughed at for saying "Cheers!": 1

Times said "Cheerio guv'nor!": 0

Henge: Stone

Professional football games attended: 1 (score: 1-1)

Professional football games attended in lifetime: 1

Rainfall total: Incalculable

Sheep total: See above

People from Wisconsin at Lancaster: 7+

My place in Line of Succession to Throne: 13,480,582

Ireland

Years under British rule: ~750, depending on where you start

Preferred drink: Guinness

Price of Corona in Dublin Temple Bar: €6.10

Seconds our group discussed whether to travel to Belfast: 4

Times nearly missed train due to Daylight Saving Time: 1

Would have liked to have seen: Cliffs of Mohr

France

Work week: 35 hours

Strike week: 85 hours

Paintings seen: 13,422

Paintings truly appreciated: 407

Meals baguette served as main component of: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Commute time to Beauvais Airport: 1 1/2 hours

Times actually attempted to speak French to French people: 2

Italy

Governments since 1946: 62

Gaffes of Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi: 0 (source: Silvio Berlusconi)

Cities visited: 3

Churches visited: Countless

Pizza places eaten at: 4

Gelato places eaten at: 2

Times actually attempted to speak Italian to Italian people: 0

Times used Spanish instead to talk to Italians: Enough to get me by

Places I would have liked to have visited but didn't
Isle of Man, Glasgow, Loch Ness, Nottingham/Bingham, Canterbury, Normandy, Germany

But as MacArthur said
I shall return

There be Wales here!*

Actually, there were. At the National Museum & Gallery of Wales.

Last weekend, to cure my desperate need to get out and do something, I travelled to Wales with my friends Cory & Ben. Specifically, we went to the Welsh capital Cardiff, which meant that I can now say I've been to all the capitals of the UK except Belfast. Despite looking fairly close on a map, Cardiff is actually a little more than four hours from Lancaster by train.

Once there, we took advantage of the warm and sunny weather and toured the grounds of Cardiff Castle, which predates 1066 and Uncle William by several decades. In my rankings of Very Old Constructions I've Seen in Europe I'd give it high marks, just above Edinburgh Castle. Among the highlights was the Norman Keep -- a hilltop tower with great views of the city -- and the apartments of the Marquis de Bute, whose exact importance I cannot grasp from Wikipedia but who was no doubt Important Enough to Have a Title. There were also some pretty neat tunnels along the walls of the place.

Our amble around Cardiff consisted mainly of pointing out odd instances of the Welsh language (actually, that was mostly me) and finding places to eat. I wanted to try laverbread balls, which is a Welsh snack made from seaweed, but none of the places we found had any. Instead I settled for Welsh roast beef, as well as my first taste of Yorkshire Pudding (verdict: rather underwhelming, actually).

We stayed overnight and luckily the price of the hostel was lower than what was advertised online. This seemed to be a running theme throughout the trip, seeing as on two occasions the cost of our meals turned out to be less than what was listed on the menu. Thanks, Wales!--it certainly gives you extra points.

On our second day we headed over to the National Museum and Gallery of Wales. I was surprised to find this was more of a natural history museum than a museum showcasing Welsh history, so there were no exhibits on the Welsh hero Gryfffflllyg (pronounced "Aaron") or on the myriad violent Welsh separatist movements. Still, there were some really cool ancient rocks on display and a model of a basking shark, the largest fish to live around Britain.

Besides from a walk through the vast Bute Park, this pretty much describes my time in Wales. The train ride home was even longer, about five hours, but we did get a stopover in Bristol which gave us time to walk around a bit and thus add the city to the list of places in Britain where I've been. Wales is a beautiful place, and I think it would've been a nice place to study abroad had I not picked Lancaster. I certainly would've felt at home, as from the train I saw more cows than I've seen for months.

So what has been going on in Lancaster? I've had two exams these past few weeks, one for Post-Authoritarian Transformation and one for Women Writers. I think Post-Autho went better than WW, if only because for the latter I only had to write one essay-length answer, which means my grade essentially rests on one answer. Man, it's hard converting every 'z' to an 's'... My next, and last, exam is June 10.

It's actually been quite sunny and warm the past week, and not just English Warm--I'm talking about highs in the 70s. I think the weather's supposed to stay nice pretty much up until I leave, so that's a nice bonus. I don't know if I'm going to do anymore major travelling in the two weeks. I definitely need to get to coastal Morecambe (pronounced "Morry Cambie"**), which is a few miles away, and see the beach. I may also go to Leeds, and possibly Hadrian's Wall or Glasgow, where, since it's June, night lasts approximately 17 minutes. I would like to have gone to the Isle of Man, but it doesn't look like that will happen.

Will there be another blog post from England? Only time will tell. In British news stay tuned to June 4, where the British National Party (motto: "Hitler Wasn't Such A Bad Guy") stands a chance of gaining a seat in the European Parliament.

*Thanks to Mom for the title
**Not really. It's "Morcum".

Up!

I've finally gotten around to detailing my final journeys of Easter vacation:

Phillip and I took the train from Rome to Florence very early in the morning, a near-debacle because we first got on the wrong train, and when we rushed through the station to catch the right one, I left one of my bags behind! Luckily, I ran back to grab it and we soon made the correct connection to Firenze.

The city was an absolute treasure. I'd rate the cathedral, known as the Duomo, as having the most beautiful exterior of the cathedrals I've visited--and and I've been to five or six since coming to Europe. Also included on our little excursion was a stop over at the Accademia, the centerpiece of which is Michelangelo's David and quite an impressive piece of work. Angry attendants yelled out "No Foto!", but I took one anyway. There was a literally a line of tourists waiting to hide behind a pillar and take a shot of it; I did and was yelled at, mainly because my flash was on (to my surprise). But it was worth it.

Also visited were the tombs and hideaways of Florence's many famous residents. Didn't go to the Uffizi, but instead trekked up a large hill that overlooked the city. Phillip kept wanting to climb higher and higher--which I'll admit wore me out--but when we got to the absolute top I was amazed at the stunning views provided.

The next day we took a train to Assisi, of St. Francis fame. A quick note: we were going back to our Rome hostel after Assisi, and I wasn't keen about leaving my rolling duffel bag in the hallway of the hostel, which was the only option since no locker was big enough for it. So I brought it with me--a rather foolish thing to do, considering Assisi is on a freakin' hill. Thus, the whole time I was climbing Assisi, I was carrying a cumbersome rolling duffel bag with me. I maintained a positive attitude though--it was Good Friday, I had a six-day stubble, and I was carrying a heavy load up a tall hill. Remind you of anyone?

My burden did not make Assisi any less gorgeous. There was St. Francis' tomb, deep in a basilica and actually quite eerie. There was a medieval stone wall, streets that looked as if they hadn't changed in 500 years, and at the highest point of Assisi, a very old fortress with a 360° view of the surrounding countryside. I can see why it would've made Francis so in touch with nature.

The return home (to England) was uneventful, though my day-before-Easter flight to London was much more expensive than I would've liked.

I'll remember the break as one of the high points of my life.* I only went to a few countries but I'm glad I paced myself--after two weeks I was exhausted. Any more travelling** and my break might have ended up like the one of my friend Sunny--he lost his passport somewhere in Belgium and had to leap through endless bureaucratic hurdles just to get a temporary one. Always keep your passport safe!

One more month left here. I don't plan on going to continental Europe again, but I'll probably do some more travelling around the UK, most likely to Wales. I'll keep you informed.

-------------

*See, my post title has more than one meaning! Haha, I am an English major!
**That's how they spell it here. Spell check does not like it.

Earth-shakin' news

Dang blast it. For the fourth time in my life I've missed feeling an earthquake. There was one that shook Lancashire earlier today, registering about a 3.7. I was awake at the time but didn't feel a thing, even though other people in my building did.

I've missed other ones in Wisconsin, Indianapolis, and Rome (the big earthquake in Italy happened the day before I got there).

SPQR Blues

So. Rome. Where the Pope hangs his hat.

After a quick hop over the Alps, Phillip and I arrived in Rome, so far the warmest city I've been in since October. We were lucky to get a hostel so close to St. Peter's Square, because this allowed us to get up early and beat the tourists (to the basilica, that is). The interior of the building is certainly dazzling--probably the most opulent out of all the churches I've seen so far on my Euro experience. It was also kind of cool to see all of the chairs and speakers set up for Easter, which was that Sunday.

Next stop was the Vatican Museum, the wait for which was probably the longest of my whole break. It was well worth it. I'd consider the Vatican Museum the highlight of my whole trip, as the frescoes and paintings are beyond stunning. There are so many of them--and to think that for hundreds of years they were only for the eyes of the pope and his cardinals! Now, unlike many I talked to I was not disappointed by the Sistine Chapel, though I was frustrated by a few things. For one, it is the last thing you're supposed to see on the tour, so while there are teasing signs pointing to "Cappella Sistina" around every corner, in reality it takes you about an hour to reach it. The actual chapel is fine, though the atmosphere is somewhat diminished by Swiss Guards yelling "No Foto!" and "Silenzio!"

(I had to ask Phillip's friend, who had joined us on this trip, where the [me doing the two fingers touching] was. He pointed. It was directly above my head.)

Oh yeah, and we also got to see the Popemobile Through the Ages exhibit.

Day 2 was our Much Older Rome tour, the centerpiece of which was the Colosseum (for those of you who do not know, the Colosseum was used in ancient times as a petting zoo). Like everything else in Rome, it was breathtaking to behold--after all, it's the freakin' Colosseum. As for the rest of the day, I didn't go into the Roman Forum, but I did see the Spanish Steps, the absolutely huge (and blindingly white) Victor Emmanuel Monument, the Pantheon, and the Italian Parliament. I kept asking where that fountain from Roman Holiday was but no one seemed to know what I was talking about.

In true Italian style, we had lots of pizza. Lots of it. And some of it, I admit, rivaled places in the king of pizza, Chicago. We also ate lots of gelato, and an Easter cake called a Colomba Pasquale.

Next up: the final legs of my journey: Florence and Assisi (visited on Good Friday, no less).

I see London, I see France...

To get to Paris, I planned on taking the Eurostar train through the Chunnel, and since this departed from London I decided to go there from Dublin (having only spent an hour in London waaaay back on January 5th, when I arrived). My hostel was very upscale and swank, and pretty cheap too (coincidentally, my hostel comes recommended in an article in this Sunday's New York Times -- looks like I picked the right one). As an added bonus, a free tour departed every day from the lobby, so my itinerary was already set out for me.

One of the tour's first stops was Buckingham Palace. The changing of the guard was underway, so I got to see all the pomp and circumstance associated with it, from the guards that couldn't respond to you to the band playing traditional British fare (notably "Theme from 'Pirates of Caribbean' "). The flag said the Queen was in, but I didn't see her; she might have been in the midst of Michelle-hugging.

After foiling an IRA attack, I followed the tour to other parts of the city, passing St. James's Palace and then Trafalgar Square. I happened to be in London on the day of the G20 protests, which--while being on the other side of the city--I was very reminded of repeatedly in Trafalagar Square, as there was lots of protest art set up, not to mention lots of pigeons.

Our tour ended at the Houses of Parliament and Westminster Abbey. After those I took the Tube over to the Tower of London (the moat is grass!) and the London Bridge, and then spent the rest of the day in Regent's Park, a very green but very big park right next to my hostel. Other than being beautiful, Regent's Park was also the second time I ran into G20 stuff, since the police were crowding a big section as I left.

The next day: Paris! No visit to the UK would be complete without a ride through the Chunnel, so I shilled out a pounds to take it. Actually, the Chunnel is a rather underwhelming experience: since the train is on a lowered track and there are a few tunnels before the Big One, I didn't even know I'd gone under the Channel until I came out the other side.

In Paris I met up with my friend Phillip, who also goes to Beloit and is studying in France. Among the highlights:

*Getting in free to the Louvre on the first night, where I amazingly met one of my friends from Lancaster.

*Taking a free tour of Paris, once again from a hostel, and learning that Louis XIV really loved his legs, the Revolution was started by some guy reading a newspaper, Napoleon liked big things, and that Hitler ordered Paris destroyed but some Nazi general, wanting to spare it, tricked him into thinking it was burning. Our tour guide was from New Zealand, so "their heads were cut off until they were dead" sounded like "their hids were cut off until they were did'.

*The Arc de Triomphe, which is really quite massive when you're standing under it.

*Hiking up the Eiffel Tower, but only to the second-highest level; the line to the summit was crowded and the view wouldn't have been any better anyway. Surprisingly, it wasn't very windy.

*Seeing the Paris Marathon run past, in which a Brit staying in our hostel room was a participant in.

*Getting into the Louvre for free AGAIN, since it was the 1st Sunday of the month (I go to places at just the right time). We got there early, so the Mona Lisa room wasn't all that crowded; it's really not as small as people say. The Louvre, on the other hand, is as big as they say it is; Phillip and I spent a whole day there and we didn't see everything. Some paintings there are massive, especially the 19th century French ones and the ones of Louis XIV's legs.

*Walking through Notre Dame, which had this annoying hunchback swinging on a rope. This guy drew lots of strange views from the French, because this man was actually working and not on strike.

*Pigging out on baguettes and cheese. Didn't eat at a café.

Paris was beautiful, but there was much more to see in Europe. After some brief problems at Paris' crappy Beauvais Airport, it was on to Italy!

Finished

I'm done with classes for...well, it looks like pretty much for the year. Easter Break started yesterday and lasts until April 20; after that I have some essays (papers) due and then a few "revision sessions" before my exams begin in May. My last exam is June 10. I'm going to have a lot of time to kill.

Next week I'm off to Ireland, France, and Italy. Look for some updates in April on my completely innocent activities backpacking across these three countries.

From York to Stonehenge

The title pretty much sums up the past few weeks. Two Saturdays ago I went to York with my friend Kyle, who's from Connecticut. This trip was an attempt to get out of Lancaster and do something after two weeks of inactivity. I'm glad I got to York, because it's a beautiful city. It's surrounded by walls from the 13th-century, and if you walk along the length of them you can pretty much traverse the entire town. There are a fair number of Roman ruins in the area, and several parks, including one in which we watched an impressive bird show.

The highlight of the trip was the York Minster, the number two cathedral in England (after Canterbury). This thing was HUGE. Inside were some very large and very old stained-glass windows, one of them the size of a tennis court; I think they're largest in the world. Kyle and I were planning on taking a trip up the cathedral's tower and also descend into the crypt, but we decided there wasn't any time to do that.

I'm glad we came on the day we did, because that Saturday was the culmination of the Jorvik Viking Festival (Jorvik is the Viking name for York). Everywhere we went there were people dressed in Viking costumes, complete with swords and shields; in every restaurant you could spot someone with fake wounds pasted to their face. Toward the end of the day the Vikings paraded through the center of the town to where the castle once stood; alas, Kyle and I had to leave before the planned Viking/Roman clash.

This past weekend I went to Bath and Stonehenge. These two locations are in the extreme south of England, meaning the bus ride was about four hours with a food stop in the middle. It was well worth it. Bath is a very Roman city, like York, though Bath was much more hilly (the San Francisco of England). Compared to Lancaster and York, there were many more churches in Bath, it seems like one on every block--and some were actually being used! At the center of the town was the Bath Abbey, which was a little bit smaller than York Minster but pretty impressive.

Saturday involved us taking a tour of the Roman Baths (note: I was traveling with a group of international students). Basically, these are ancient swimming pools that occasionally bubble--all in all, nothing too remarkable, except for the fact that they are 2,000 years old. On display were lots of statues to Gods, Roman mosaics, heads of Minerva, etc. I enjoyed it, but the admission price of £9.50 was a little steep.

We stayed overnight at a hostel, which was included in the travel package. In the morning they served us a free "continental" breakfast the next morning, which meant toast, cereal, and orange juice. I think I like American continental breakfasts better.

On Sunday we went to Stonehenge. We came upon it so quickly that I only had time to think, "Is that really Stonehenge?" It wasn't that it was small, it was just so close to the motorway that I probably would've missed it or assumed it was just some Stonehenge-themed rest stop. The bus driver said we were lucky to come when we did, since it's usually windy and rainy at Stonehenge, and that day it was sunny. You can't actually go up to the monument, just circle it, and we did so for about a half-hour, pondering such things as just how exactly those ancients got the stones on top of the other ones 5,000 years ago, and what exactly a henge was (I subscribe to the theories presented in this video). I left Stonehenge thrilled at seeing one of the wonders of the world, and no thrilled with the prospect of a four hour drive home.

Pictures of these events will be available soon. Next weekend I'm going paintballing for the first time, which should prove quite interesting. I've made some plans for Easter Break--on March 26 I'm going to Dublin, and on April 3 I'm going to Paris to hop around Europe with my friend Phillip. Exciting stuff.

Post-Authoritarian fun!

No, this isn't really an update on my travels -- that's coming in a few days. This is just me sharing a funny quote I read in a book for my "Post-Authoritarian Transitions" class. It's from an American officer touring Italy during the country's post-World War II rebuilding:

The Italians can tell you the names of the ministers in the government but not the names of the favorite products of the celebrities of the country. In addition, the walls of the Italian cities are plastered more with political slogans than with commercial ones. According to the opinion of this officer there is little hope that the Italians will achieve a state of prosperity and internal calm until they start to be more interested in the respective merits of different types of cornflakes and cigarettes rather than the relative abilities of their political leaders.

He wasn't being ironic.

Anyhoo, tonight I'm going down to Liverpool to see a football match between Wigan Athletic and Liverpool. It should prove interesting. On Saturday I'm taking a day trip to Edinburgh, Scotland. Look for a report on those travels on Sunday!